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Jason Marquis

Marquis Not Happy

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SUNDAY: Piniella and Marquis have patched things up.  Marquis noted that he has started "effectively the last four-plus, five years" and still hopes to start.

SATURDAY: Jason Marquis made it clear today that he does not want to be a member of the Cubs if he is sent to the bullpen:

I love Chicago.  I definitely want to stay here. This is the place I want to be. I signed here for a reason. But I also signed as a starter, and I think that’s where I help the team the most. Obviously we’ll see what happens when it’s time for [the Cubs] to make their decision.

Apparently Marquis forgot who his manager is. Lou Piniella responded by saying that Marquis will only be in the rotation if he wins a spot:

Well, if that’s the case, he can go somewhere else.  Win a spot in the rotation, you don’t have to worry about it. … I’ve got seven starters here for five spots, you know? It’s a little bit too early to start talking about what he wants to do or not do…He can go somewhere else right now if he wants. How’s that?

Marquis, who signed with the Cubs prior to last season, went 12-9, with a 4.60 ERA in 34 appearances last year. He has two years remaining on his deal that will pay him $6.4MM this year and $9.9MM in 2009.

By Cork Gaines

Coco Still Possibility For Cubs, White Sox

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Two suitors for the affable Coco Crisp, both in the Windy City.

According to Chris De Luca at the Chicago Sun Times,

"The Cubs and Red Sox have had talks centering on Crisp in recent weeks, though the subject was broached by Boston, sources say, and evidently the Red Sox were not interested when the Cubs dangled outfielder Matt Murton.  Talks could resume during spring training, however, depending on the Red Sox’ need for starting pitching — an area where the Cubs are expected to have some surplus with Ryan Dempster or Jason Marquis getting nudged out of the rotation."

And also from the same source,

"They, too, could find themselves in the market later in camp if Jerry Owens doesn’t pan out in center. Manager Ozzie Guillen has long admired Crisp, but the White Sox don’t figure to have a surplus of starting pitching by the end of spring training."

On a related side note, I caught the BoSox/Twins preseason game on Friday night and got a chance to watch Twins CF incumbent Carlos Gomez unload a scud missile from centerfield to get Dustin Pedroia at homeplate. With Gomez in house, I can see why rumors of the Twins as an option for Coco have cooled.  Thoughts?

By Nat Boyle

Cubs Sign Lieber

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UPDATE, 1-16-08 at 1:18pm: The deal is for $3.5MM plus incentives.  The signing looks solid to me; the Cubs needed a little depth at the back end of their rotation and the risk is very small.  Lieber had also spoken to the Reds, but the Cubs were his first choice.

UPDATE, 1-16-08 at 10:45am: Rosenthal confirms the signing; it’s a one-year deal.  He says Lieber won’t have to fight for a rotation spot.  That might mean Jason Marquis is headed out of town or Ryan Dempster back to the ’pen (I suppose Dempster could be dealt instead).  I guess Sean Marshall is the sixth man if he’s not traded.

FROM 1-16-08 at 10:14am:

According to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs "appear close to signing veteran right-hander Jon Lieber."  Sullivan says Lieber would compete for the team’s fifth starter job.  Bruce Levine called this rumor earlier this month.

Lieber had some solid years for the Cubs, winning 20 games in ’01.  He had surgery in July of ’07 for a ruptured tendon in his foot, missing the rest of the season.  He’ll be 38 in April.

Would Mets Consider Marquis?

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On November 29th, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick mentioned that the Cubs are "listening on Jason Marquis."  This would clearly be a salary dump, as Marquis will earn $16.25MM over 2008-09.

Since then we haven’t heard of any teams interested in the 29 year-old righty.  However, Mets manager Willie Randolph brought up Marquis yesterday as a consideration for the team’s rotation.  The article’s author, Adam Rubin, added that the Cubs are fans of Endy Chavez.  It wouldn’t be fair to equate the two players, however.

Hat tip to MetsBlog on this one.

Crasnick’s Latest: Kuroda, Marquis, Morris

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ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has an in-depth look at the pitching market.  I’ll highlight a few new tidbits.

  • Hiroki Kuroda might require four years, as some teams are viewing him as the best available free agent starter.
  • Scott Boras might wait out the market a bit and then push for five years for Kyle Lohse.  That’s right, five years for Kyle Lohse.
  • Matt Clement to the Reds is a possibility I hadn’t considered.  Clement did pitch for Dusty Baker with the Cubs.
  • Crasnick reports there would be huge interest in Mark Prior if the Cubs non-tender him.  As in, pretty much every team in baseball.  Crasnick’s source indicates that Prior and the Cubs don’t have the best relationship.
  • Crasnick spoke to Doug Melvin and confirmed that Claudio Vargas and Chris Capuano will not be non-tendered.  But they could definitely be traded.
  • The Cubs are listening to offers for Jason Marquis, who is owed $16.25MM over 2008-09.  So maybe they are still in on Kuroda.
  • New Pirates GM Neal Huntington is shopping Dave Littlefield’s mistake, Matt Morris.  Morris makes $9.5MM in ’08 and would be owed a $1MM buyout in ’09.

Crazy Cubs Speculation

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My apologies in advance for those who think this site is a little too Cubs-centric.  The Needs and Luxuries post was my fault, but it’s only natural for all of the local writers to speculate on ways to improve the club for 2008.

I know some of the Cubs fans who frequent MLBTR take some abuse for off-the-wall speculation.  Jacque Jones for someone of value, for example.  But honestly, the published newspaper speculation isn’t any better.

  • Barry Rozner takes his knee-jerk shots at Aramis Ramirez, who was awful in the three-game set against Arizona.  According to Rozner, A-Rod is a "better guy, better fielder, and better hitter."  That’s why the newly signed Ramirez should be dealt to make room for him.
  • Jeff Vorva wants to sign A-Rod for shortstop, move Theriot to second base, move Mark DeRosa to right field, and sign Torii Hunter for center field.  That’s message-board type stuff.  And I say again, Theriot’s not a starter.
  • Paul Sullivan wants to trade Jason Marquis.  Sure, that would be nice.  But come on – the Cubs got exactly what everyone expected in Marquis’ first year, maybe even a little better.  If Marquis is over 5.00 for the next two years, that should come as no surprise.  Sullivan would also like to sign Aaron Rowand off a career year, blocking the Cubs’ best prospect for around $55-60MM.
  • Gordon Wittenmyer wants Ryan Theriot leading off, though he was one of the few regular Cubs with an OBP worse than Soriano.  Wittenmyer expects the Cubs to cut Mark Prior loose rather than gamble $3MM on him.         
  • Phil Rogers notes Kerry Wood’s resurgence as a reliever.  If the Cubs want to keep him, it’ll cost more than a million or two this time.

Cubs Sign Jason Marquis

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As has been rumored for a while now, the Cubs have signed 28 year-old righthander Jason Marquis.  The Tribune says three years, $20MM, while the Post-Dispatch says three years, $28MM.

I think this is a bad signing.  I was actually naive enough to suggest yesterday that Marquis would draw a tiny commitment of just one year and $3MM – after all, he is coming off a 6.02 ERA.  I figured it would be comparable to the Kip Wells deal – too much uncertainty to guarantee more than a year.

The Cubs didn’t feel that way; now it’s up to Larry Rothschild to coax three league average innings out of Marquis.  Apparently eating innings, no matter how poorly, is worth $6-9MM per season.

UPDATE: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick says it’s for three years and $21MM.

Cubs Close To Signing Jason Marquis

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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch confirmed a rumor Bruce Levine first reported yesterday – that Jason Marquis is close to signing with the Cubs.

It’s easy to look at Marquis’s 6.02 ERA and question why any team would give him a million or three to pitch next year.  However, it should be noted that Tony La Russa left Marquis in to save the bullpen on two occasions – June 21 against the White Sox (13 ER in 5 IP) and July 18th against the Braves (12 ER in 5 IP).  Let’s take those two starts out, for the sake of argument.

With two slaughter starts included: 6.02 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 10.2 H/9, 4.5 K/9, 1.6 HR/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.28 K/BB

With two slaughter starts removed: 5.13 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 9.4 H/9, 4.4 K/9, 1.4 HR/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.24 K/BB

Alright, that experiment still shows that Marquis had an awful year.  But at least it was somewhat less awful than it looked.  Think Steve Trachsel/Jamey Wright territory, with Miguel Batista upside. 

We can see that compared 2005, Marquis’s HR prevention and control worsened a bit (although not terribly so).  The biggest difference was a groundball percentage that dropped from 52% to 43%.  He needs to get the sink back – Cesar Izturis can do the rest.

Marquis isn’t a great pitcher.  His strikeout rate is dangerously low.  But he could be good for 200 innings and a 4.50 ERA – I think there’s at least a 50% chance of that.  4.49 was the National League average ERA in 2006.  It’s a gamble that’s worth the $3MM he’ll probably want.

Carroll: Marquis For Heilman?

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Fueled by pierogis, time to write up another rumor before I hit the hay.  Monday should be good times.

According to Will Carroll this evening, the Mets and Cardinals are talking about an Aaron Heilman for Jason Marquis swap. Most Mets fans seem up in arms at the possibility.

After all, Marquis will be a free agent after this season and currently sports a 5.67 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. "But wait!" you’re saying.  "What about those times Tony La Russa sacrificed his ERA to save the bullpen?"  Alright, alright, let’s take those out (which is more than a tad generous).  Removing Marquis’s 12 and 13 earned run starts, he’s got a 4.39 ERA and 1.28 WHIP.  That actually makes Marquis look like an above average pitcher.  Indeed, he is a pretty solid back of the rotation guy.

Heilman has stumbled a bit this season, posting a 4.32 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 58 innings of relief.  He’s actually improved upon his control a bit, but his strikeout rate is down significantly and his hit rate is subsequently way up.  It’d be interesting to see what a Dave Duncan or Don Cooper could do with him.  Could he be worked back into a starting role?  It’s not out of the question but success as a starter is no slam dunk.  Just ask Ryan Madson. 

Jason Marquis for Victor Diaz?

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Just got word from my main Mets source with all sorts of good info.

With Pedro’s status a question mark at this point, Omar Minaya would like to add a proven veteran starting pitcher to the middle of the rotation.  The Mets first preference is Jason Marquis (a New York native, for what it’s worth).  They’ve offered a package beginning with Victor Diaz to entice Walt Jocketty.  Diaz would probably be an upgrade over the Cards’ current left field options.  The Mets aren’t thrilled with Diaz’s defense and would be content to try Xavier Nady in right field.

Other options include two Boston starters.  The Mets would love to bring Matt Clement back to the NL, but they don’t want to give up a lot to get him and are wary of his salary.  Bronson Arroyo’s name has also come up.

The White Sox could also be a factor if they decide to part with Jose Contreras.

Keep an eye this spring on the right field battle, Pedro’s toe, and the 4th-5th starter spots in the rotation.  A spring trade is a good possibility.

The Soriano thing has pretty much been debunked; the Mets will see where Kaz Matsui takes them and then try Anderson Hernandez as needed.

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